The Toronto Maple Leafs faced the Washington Capitals in the second part of a back-to-back on Wednesday, coming off a road loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. Earlier in the day, Sheldon Keefe stated that the team would be without veteran defenceman T.J. Brodie, who will sit for the first time as a healthy scratch in his Maple Leafs career – aside from late-season rest games.
The Maple Leafs won the game 7-3 and went on a two-day break. On Saturday, it was revealed that Brodie will be out of the lineup as a healthy scratch for the second straight game. Once again, the team defeated a high-powered Edmonton Oilers offense, 6-3.
Brodie’s value to the team has not diminished, but Keefe wants him to “clear his head” after a difficult season in which he has not been at his best defensively as one of the team’s finest defensive options.
Now that the Maple Leafs have gone 2-0 without him, what is Keefe and his team’s next step in terms of the veteran defenceman?
Maple Leafs’ Brodie Needs A Mental Reset.
Keefe’s goal is to help Brodie reach some kind of mental reset. Prior to the season, his father, Jay, died of cancer, and Brodie’s performance on the ice has appeared less concentrated than in previous seasons.
That is not to argue that his emphasis is solely on his loss; rather, there may be other external factors influencing him. After all, hockey is only a game, and these guys’ lives take precedence over their hockey careers.
According to the coach, the scenarios are nothing more than a reset for the 34-year-old.
“I’d just like him to clear his head,” Keefe remarked about Brodie. “He’s had a horrible time here from the start of training camp till the end. And because of the demands we’ve placed on him, he hasn’t had much time to breathe, recover, and discover himself.”
Brodie has the Maple Leafs’ second-highest average time on ice this season, at 21:51 through 66 games, trailing only Morgan Rielly’s 23:51 through 63 games. While he is regarded as one of the team’s best penalty killers, the Maple Leafs have rated in the bottom ten on the penalty kill this season, placing 24th in the league.
Furthermore, Brodie’s expected-goals percentage has plummeted to 43 percent, a career low for the frequently defensive defenceman, and it has been evident in his overall performance this season.
Maple Leafs Have Options Outside of Brodie
At the deadline, the Maple Leafs acquired Ilya Lyubushkin and Joel Edmundson to improve their back end depth heading into the playoffs. Even with Mark Giordano on long-term injured reserve due to a brain injury, the Maple Leafs have options on the blue line, which allows Brodie to sit and rest for a few games.
However, changing a winning lineup is difficult. The Maple Leafs haven’t looked terrible defensively in the two games after Brodie gave up six goals against two clubs with quality goal scorers on their roster.
But where does this leave Brodie, who has been one of the team’s weakest defenseman this season? Better yet, when Giordano returns on March 25, it will create an even bigger logjam in the lineup, making it difficult to pull Simon Benoit and Joel Edmundson out given what they can offer to the table and what this club needs when facing a tough opponent in the playoffs.
“We added some defensive depth here, obviously, at the trade deadline, and we’re in a different position as a team than we were,” Keefe said of Brodie’s place in the lineup. “So, as I mentioned, we have a chance to really help Brodes with the mental aspect of it. I believe we’re hoping it re-energizes him. There’s an additional step involved. And with an extra step, the puck moves faster. You suddenly find yourself defending less. And all of these things begin to come into place. But the most important thing for us right now is to give him the time he needs to get back to being himself, since he’s a vital member of our team. When he’s at his best, he’s as good a defender as we have, as dependable and steady a player. So we need to get him to that.”
Brodie is also due to face free agency this summer, raising additional uncertainties about his future with the Maple Leafs. However, for the time being, he is a member of the blue and white, and given Keefe’s opinion of him, you would have to believe he will return to the lineup sooner rather than later.
Still, with Benoit, Edmundson, and Lyubushkin aware that they may all be bubble players come playoff time, their play over the next week or so will be driven by a desire to stay in the lineup. We’ll have to wait and see what the cost to Brodie is.
